threats online. i note you only point out she's the victim of that. i don't know what to believe yet. keep an open mind. one more quickly. you are carrying trump's water also, michael smerconish. carrying his water, yet out to do him in. thank you for watching. see you next week. good morning, everyone. it is saturday, september 22nd. i am diane gallagher in for christi paul. >> i am victor blackwell. you're in the cnn news room. following two huge political stories this hour. deputy attorney general rod rosenstein is on the defensive, denying he suggested wearing a wire to record conversations with president trump, or that he wanted to recruit cabinet members to remove him from office. >> meantime, the woman accusing the supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault has until 2:30 today to decide if she will testify before the

senate judiciary committee. >> that's coming up. right now, we want to take you live to conway, south carolina where we are seeing flood waters rise. nick valencia is there. nick? >> reporter: good morning, victor, diane. we have been talking about this all week. residents have been expecting this to happen. now the water from waccamaw river that overflowed from north carolina making its way to south carolina is starting to creep into the neighborhoods. coming up in a live report in a few minutes, what they're saying now about a coal ash pond, whether or not that water breached into the ash pond. we'll tell you what the effect on the environment will be. a live report from conway later in the show. guys? rod rosenstein issued two statements denying the report that he floated a plan to remove the president from office. want to read you the latest one. quote, i never pursued or authorized recording the president and any suggestion that i have ever advocated for the removal of the president is

absolutely false. joining me now live from washington, cnn justice reporter laura jarrett. not one but two statements on this now. rosenstein definitely does not want to be seen that this is something he was trying to do. >> diane, friday's remarkable news of member rows detailing rosenstein musing about secretly wearing a wire to record the president and removing him from office sent a shock wave through the justice department as officials tried to contain the damage. in addition to rosenstein's denials, one person who was actually in the room told me he was clearly being sarcastic. while no one is reporting that either of his proposals came to fruition, the revelations themselves could further imperil his standing in the president's eyes as the investigation looms so large. look at what the president said in a rally last night in missouri. >> we have great people in the

department of justice. we have great people. these are people i really believe, you take a poll, i have to be at 95%. you have some real bad ones, seeing what happened at the fbi. they're all gone. they're all gone. they're all gone. but there's a lingering stench, and we're going to get rid of that too. >> it is too early to tell how all of this will get resolved in the end. in the event that rosenstein is either fired or quits, there is a succession plan. i think it is important to note. and mueller's work will continue on, diane. >> laura jarrett, thank you for your reporting. joining me to talk more about this, laura is staying with us. let's bring in shan wu, former prosecutor, samantha vinograd,

former senior adviser to president obama's national security team. thank you for staying with us, laura. welcome to the two of you. laura, let me start with you. what's the view in the doj. do they expect rod rosenstein can make it to election day? >> when this all broke yesterday, i think officials were trying to do what they could to explain the motivations and intent here. no one is disputing what mccabe's memo says, that's where all of this is documented in contemporaneous notes. they're trying to say rosenstein wasn't seriously considering actually taping the president. you see it reflected in his two denials, one firmer than the other last night after a meeting at the white house. i think what you're seeing is them trying to figure out how best to contain it, realizing this is not good. sources tell a colleague that jeff sessions is upset and concerned about this news, victor. >> shan, before the reporting in

"new york times" and since then, there was from critics the narrative that firing rod rosenstein would be part of the case, evidence of obstruction of justice. is that still the case after learning of these conversations about the 25th amendment and potential wiring, recording of the president? >> certainly gives president trump much more cover were he to fire him, and frankly sessions may fire him too. their each individual motivations could be rather k w nuanced. it would be a pretext to get rid of rosenstein, for sessions, could be a way to take heat off him. but it gives him cover. it is a very unusual kind of conversation to have. i have been in high level justice meetings, i worked for the attorney general myself, personal people are very candid, they express themselves frankly, and makes sense he could have been being sarcastic about the wire. if he was being serious about

the wire, that's a bizarre thing for the deputy attorney general to volunteer himself to do. you would have thought there was enormous crisis, and if that serious, hard to imagine he could walk back from that and continue to work there. >> samantha, we learn through the reporting on memos from andrew mccabe. what is the release of the memos, the president's flirting throughout the week with possibility of declassifying records and documents related to the russia investigation. how does that impact the ability to do the job at the doj? >> that's a great question. while there's a lot of he said she said about what rosenstein did or did not say, one thing we know for sure, there was another massive leak of highly sensitive information to the media. the united states government has become such a leaking machine. you couple that with the fact that the president appears willing to declassify highly

sensitive intelligence and intelligence sources and methods that could impact foreign intelligence services whenever he feels like he needs to satisfy a personal need, and you just have to ask yourselves why would our law enforcement and intelligence partners around the world feel in any way confident that information they share with us is not going to end up on the front page of "new york times" if internal doj memos on highly sensitive conversations can't even stay within the building. >> shan, what would have been, we know the plan didn't come to fruition, but what would have been the value of these recordings in the context of impeachment or removal of the president? >> they would have had to have been evidence of his lack of fitness for the office. obviously this has pretty much never been tested in modern times, but presumably if they could capture him on tape, sounding like he was deranged or if he was saying something dangerous for the country, they

could have tried to bring that attention to congress. what makes little sense, how would you do that with the deputy attorney general wearing the wire and being the star witness. that's not how things work. he is the deputy attorney general, he is not the attorney general, not a cabinet level person to talk about that. it seems like an odd circumstance. >> laura, the deputy attorney general denied this twice as we said. first he said the reporting was factually incorrect, then said i will not further comment on the story, and a few hours later, further commented by saying he never pursued or authorized recording the president and any suggestion that i have ever advocated for removal of the president is absolutely false. how did he get from denial one to two? >> i think it is safe to say, you can imagine sometimes in washington, things snowball a bit. between the first and the second, almost every outlet came up with their own version of the

story, not just "new york times." we did "the washington post," abc, nbc. this was not just a "new york times" story, it snowballed. by last night when he went over to the white house and it was reported a situation they felt like he needed to issue a firmer denial. also to shan's point, the idea that this happened is quite stunning. what i think really happened is there was a severe amount, deep mistrust in the days after former fbi director james comey was fired, and through various sources i talked to yesterday, they describe a frantic atmosphere where mccabe is so angry about the firing of comey who he really respected a great deal along with everyone else at the fbi, and the justice department is reeling from the fact they were thrown under the bus from comey's firing. you combine the two, it is a hot bed of misunderstanding and mischaracterizations that we're seeing play out in a really public way.

>> quickly to you, last we heard from the president is the lingering stench he discussed. what's that mean for the people that worked there, as he tries to say or the white house tries to say, this is about leadership and not rank and file, or do rank and file feel that characterization of lingering stench? >> imagine what it is like to go to work monday at the department of justice. you have the president talk about lingering stench of the doj, and fbi, and cancerous elements in mix. statement, you look across the table wondering who leaked this to "new york times." there's been a toxic environment at the white house after a series of leaks. i hear it will start to permeate department of justice as well. -- i fear it will start to permeate at the department of justice as well. in south carolina they're feeling the effects of hurricane florence still. new video from the city of conway, nearly underwater as you can see, and the water is expected to rise in the coming

days. correspondent nick valencia in conway, south carolina. nick, glad you're there, reporting from the ground. they have record flooding. what are you seeing in the area, how are they preparing for what's to come? >> reporter: the best way it has been described is by local residents. it is like a slow motion disaster. we have been here all week long. we have all known it is coming, all seen the water creep inch by inch from the waccamaw river. it is all overflow and now getting to people's homes. believe it or not, this is not officially a flood zone. it hasn't flooded in years past, maybe a little water in 2016, hurricane matthew was the last major storm that came through here, this area got just a little bit of water then. this had major flash flooding after hurricane florence landfall, and it is remarkable to see a community still suffering the aftermath of a hurricane that landed over a week ago. all morning long, we have seen residents come to the area, picking their jaw up off the

floor after seeing the water here, they're not used to seeing something like this. it is spreading slowly but surely across the community. the city administrator said he wouldn't be surprised if by the weekend main street may flood. if you have been here, there's only one or two ways out. they're worried about a life line out if the water continues to rise. the fire chief said some spots it is 8 to 10 feet, seen it rise 2 to 3 inches in the few hours we have been here. sort of a little drop off there, the fire hydrant, it is almost to the top of that. where we are standing, close to our shins. we have seen it slowly, steadily rise. the good news is most residents have gotten out. they're not under mandatory evacuation. this is not mandatory evacuation zone. but they're heavily encouraged by local authorities to get out. bad news, a lot of people in the area since not technically a flood zone don't have flood

insurance. >> thank you for that. so many people in the carolinas need help in the coming weeks and months. coming up, senate republicans applying pressure to the woman accusing supreme court nominee of sexual assault. coming up, what could happen as we approach that 2:30 deadline set by republican lawmakers. ♪ oh, look... another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week.

with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles. one week? that definitely works! rapid wrinkle repair®. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. see what's possible. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on. i can do more to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its own insulin. i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release its own insulin, like it's supposed to.

trulicity is not insulin. it works 24/7. it comes in an easy-to-use pen. and i may even lose a little weight. trulicity is an injection to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. don't use it as the first medicine to treat diabetes, or if you have type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, you're allergic to trulicity, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck or severe stomach pain. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases your low blood sugar risk. common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite. these can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. to help lower my a1c i choose trulicity to activate my within. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity.

♪ to help lower my a1c i choose tok here we go guys, you ready?. hi! cinturones por favor. gracias. opportunity is everywhere. ♪ it's gonna be fine. it's a door... ♪ it's doing a lot of kicking down there. waiting to be opened. ♪ whatever your ambition... ♪ whatever your drive... ♪ whatever you're chasing... driver, are we almost there? we're gonna have a baby! ♪ daddy! daddy! opportunity is everywhere. ♪

all you have to do to find it is get out... here. ♪ we are hours away from a deadline set by senate republicans for the woman accusing brett kavanaugh of sexual assault for her to say if she's going to agree to testify before the senate judiciary committee. christine blasey ford says he sexual assaulted her at a party when they were in high school. committee chair chuck grassley gave her until 2:30 today to decide if she's going to testify or says the vote will move forward monday afternoon. ford's attorney called the deadline arbitrary. joining me, travis leitner,

former law clerk to brett kavanaugh. you're a former clerk, have been there in the room supporting judge kavanaugh, have been coordinating communication with former clerks. safe to say you're a fan, you believe he is qualified to serve a lifetime appointment on the supreme court. >> safe to say. >> my question here is what is the harm then in waiting on this a little bit? what is the rush, allowing another background investigation by the fbi, this time pertaining to allegations by miss ford. is it just politics here? why not wait and let this play out? >> i think some waiting has already occurred. the allegation became public with the name of dr. ford attached to it when reported in "the washington post" sunday, and pretty much immediately chairman grassley and senate republicans reached out, said they would make available a public hearing, a confidential private hearing, a confidential

interview with committee and staff, they were offering right away. they have been negotiating in good faith with dr. ford and her counsel for almost a week now the conditions under which that testimony might happen. everyone continues to say if she wishes to testify, her voice should be heard, but what you're seeing overnight and today is that at some point if the decision isn't coming way way or the other whether she's to testify, the process is really at a standstill as we wait. people have been willing to wait. what i hear it seems after having waited a week, they may feel it is appropriate to move on if no testimony is coming in confidential or public interview formats. >> it hasn't been there's no testimony coming, right? her attorneys are trying to negotiate. they have some demands, some which seem to make sense, some members of the committee said they make sense. others like her testifying after kavanaugh don't seem to gel as

much, but they have a list of things they're trying to make it as easy on their client as possible, so sounds more like negotiations which is commonplace in a situation like this. >> sure. and as i understand it the republicans agreed to some of the terms that i think everyone agrees are reasonable, would have been automatic anyway in any senate hearing, so again i don't understand it or perceive it as an outside observer of the senate process as anyone applying undue pressure opposed to saying look, we seeded to a lot of requests, we want to hear the testimony. we were willing to hear it privately, in an interview, in any format we have to make available. now it is time after a week of discussing some of the finer points of what a hearing might look like to decide if this may happen at all. >> i want to read you something from "the wall street journal" editorial board. the democratic standard for sexual assault allegations they should be accepted as true

merely for having been made. the accuser assumed to be telling the truth because the accuser is a woman. the burden is on mr. kavanaugh to prove his innocence. if he can't do so, he is unfit to serve on the cord. this turns american justice and due process upside down. is that the feeling those of you that were in the kavanaugh camp think is happening, his due process is limited and turned upside down? this is a hearing for a lifetime appointment, it is not a criminal case. >> that's right. i think if there's anything that's frustrating for those of us that know judge kavanaugh so well, it is in this environment since this allegation became public, of course people want to hear the testimony of dr. ford if she wants to give that testimony, and everyone has been very express in saying that her voice should be heard if she wishes to make it heard. at the same time, there are hundreds of people standing behind judge kavanaugh. there was a news conference yesterday with more than 85

women that knew him from all walks of life, many since high school, who are standing up, attesting to his character, not just to a general character but the idea that the allegation is wildly past anything they could conceive that judge kavanaugh would do, and those voices in this environment have trouble breaking through. those of us that support him, know him well, want to be sure if voices are heard, all of them are being heard. when you have a 36-year-old allegation, that allegation deserves to be given time to be put in the public eye if that's what dr. ford wishes to do, but it is 36 years ago. it is going to be difficult to prove, quote, unquote, one way or the other. we will really never know. this is about statements of people that were allegedly involved and about the character and other evidence about the person who allegedly committed this, and i can just tell you for myself, for all of the law clerks and all of the people i'm in contact with regularly, everyone just believes that's nothing that could be possible

coming from him at all. >> thank you so much. there's a lot of talk about the 25th amendment and the president. we'll tell you what it does and how likely it is it will ever be invoked. you're in the business of helping people. we're in the business of helping you. business funding to help make a difference. another way we have your back. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. - anncr: as you grow older, -your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is great... when i can keep up! - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. - she outsmarts me every single time. - checkmate! you wanna play again? - anncr: prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

of great savings and service. with such a long history, it's easy to trust geico! thank you todd. it's not just easy. it's-being-a-master-of-hypnotism easy. hey, i got your text- sleep! doug, when i snap my fingers you're going to clean my gutters. ooh i should clean your gutters! great idea. it's not just easy. it's geico easy. todd, you will go make me a frittata. our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition... for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure. now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy! are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec®. it's starts working hard at hour one. and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®.

my dbut now, i take used tometamucil every day.sh it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like. another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce wrinkles. neutrogena®.

a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! welcome back. there's a lot of talk about the 25th amendment, swirling around washington and the whole country lately. yesterday afternoon we learned the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein reportedly discussed

wearing a wire and trying to recruit cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment. earlier this month in the now infamous "new york times" anonymous op-ed, a senior white house official says there were whispers of using it to remove the president from office. what exactly is the 25th amendment we're hearing so much about. the digital director of politics zachary wolf is here. a famous amendment, is anyone sure what it does though? >> it was enacted in the wake of the kennedy assassination, has to deal with presidential succession. most of it, there are four sections of it, the first three mostly have to do with if the president dies or is no longer able to perform duties, power goes to the vice president. then there's a fourth section about how the cabinet and vice president can essentially vote to overturn the president, to take power away temporarily. that triggers a complicated process where the president can disagree with them, they vote

again, and then it goes to congress where two-thirds majority would have to agree to take power from the president and then the vice president takes over for the president. so it is a sort of long, complicated process that would play out over the course of three weeks and it is like a side way, it is not impeachment or death, it is a different way for the president to leave office, you know, without being voted out, and people for some reason keep coming back to this. we heard steve bannon was obsessed with it, we know trump has been thinking about it, with the anonymous op-ed and with the rosenstein story, people inside the white house talked about it. it is so fascinating because it makes you wonder how they're dealing with the president on a daily basis. >> zachary wolf, thank you for breaking down the amendment for us. we are four hours from the deadline senate republicans set

for christine blasey ford to decide if she will testify about sexual assault allegation she levied against supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. joining me for a breakdown on this and today's other political headlines, darren johnson, brian robertson. welcome back. let's start. there are four points we know ford's attorneys and senate republicans are on. let's put them on the screen. first, the opening statement. miss ford would like to -- professor ford would like a statement with no time limit. do you think she should? >> look, give her her say. i think republicans have bent over backwards to make sure she can tell her story. don't set any arbitrary rules. we don't want her to filibuster this. the process needs to move forward, but give her as much time she wants as long as

reasonable. let her tell her story. we're going to confirm him, he is going to be on the spreemupr court. we need to get going on this. >> you're going to confirm him no matter what she says? >> look, no. >> clarify that. >> more than likely he is going to be on the supreme court. nothing that's been alleged to this point, i don't know why you would hold anything back. we have a lot of growing up to do when we are 17. we don't even know this is true. >> nothing she alleged disqualified him from the supreme court. darren? >> i agree she definitely has to be heard. look at a time we know this is a lifetime appointment, it is a supreme court of the united states of america, the highest court of the land. so anyone that has decided to put themselves and their family

through this grueling nomination process had to be able to be open to whatever may come their way. i think in this case with miss ford that she should take as much time as she possibly wants because i think that when she goes and testifies, i think it should be unlimited. she's exposing herself and her family about something she alleged happened at a very young age. i want to commend senate republicans, particularly chairman grassley for giving her more time, but it has been this air we should rush this woman, and more importantly, what's the rush to get this confirmed. let's not forget, republicans spent enormous time and months blocking judge garland who should have been given a hearing. >> more than 400 days. let me come back with the statement, nothing she alleged disqualified him from the supreme court. even if it is true. even if he sexual assaulted her when he was 17 and she was 15, that's not disqualifying.

he should be confirmed? >> there's one eyewitness to this and the witness says what she says happened didn't happen. both are named. they say it didn't happen. this was not a rape. everybody was fully clothed. is it inappropriate? absolutely. is that how any young man should treat any young woman, absolutely not. but if you went back, put this in a larger context, they were 17 years old, no crime was committed, something terribly inappropriate we should teach young men not to do for sure, this is not something for a 17 should disqualify them in 50s and have shown to be responsible adults. what i am looking for is a pattern of behavior. if we are missing any other example -- >> one sexual assault is a g gimme. >> sexual assault is, as a 17-year-old, look, there are gradations, different grades are sexual assault. i think we need to be careful

about criminalizing 17-year-old behavior. >> this is an acceptable level of sexual assault? >> i said it is inappropriate. it is not a crime. >> you have been clear about that. we can't press any more on that, you have been clear this is an acceptable level of sexual assault. >> that's not fair. >> i asked you that. you said it is not a crime. he was 17 years old. and it should not prevent him from being confirmed, even if he did it. >> if the story as we know it is true, this should not prevent him being confirmed. >> that's your position. we tested it, you hold to it. let's go to another one that she should testify second, after judge kavanaugh. why should he defend himself and then she will accuse him. why is that order appropriate? >> i don't think that order is appropriate. i think that again i want to commend the senate republicans, particularly the chair of the judiciary committee for giving her enough time. they have been working with her lawyers to make sure if this

testimony happens that they feel she will be put in a fair and proper setting, but i think you should give kavanaugh opportunity to respond, but you've got to hear the alleged victims' points of what she thinks happened and what she encountered this day. to have him go first and have her go second will completely discredit her statement. at the end of the day, the american people deserve to hear what the woman wants to say if she chooses to testify. i believe kavanaugh should have an opportunity to defend and give his version of what he remembers happens when he was the age of 17. >> why don't republicans want to hear from mark judge under oath? >> i'm sorry? >> the third person that dr. ford alleges was in the room. why don't they want to hear from him under oath? >> i don't know. i think that republicans serve themselves by being as open as possible. i think that's why you see them moving the deadline back, working with dr. ford and her attorney to make sure she feels

comfortable, she feels secure, that she can tell her story like she wants to. i think they're bending over backwards. it would keep with that if they let mr. judge testify as well. look, he already said this didn't happen. >> it is different to have an attorney release a statement and say it under oath under penalty of perjury. why not subpoena him, make him make his case in front of the committee. >> i would love him to make his case before the committee. i would love for him to do that. >> one more thing, we talked about kavanaugh. i want to talk about the ad that came out overnight that's gone viral. an arizona house race from a candidate, david brill, against the incumbent, paul gosar. >> paul gosar the congressman isn't doing anything to help rural america. >> paul is not working for his district. >> if they care about health care, they care about their children's health care, they would hold him to account. if they care about jobs, they

would hold him to account. if he actually cared about people in rural arizona, i bet he would be fighting for social security, for better access to health care. i bet he would be researching what is the most insightful water policy to help the environment of arizona sustain itself and be successful. >> he is not listening to you. he doesn't have your interests at heart. >> david gosar. >> jennifer gosar. >> he is my brother. >> i endorse dr. brill. >> wholeheartedly endorse david brill for congress. >> i am david brill, i approve this message. >> that is cold. >> we have been doing campaigns almost two decades now. there's not this unknown thing where you have sort of debates

and tension privately with your siblings, even your parents. my brother who sometimes is my biggest critic, also my biggest fan would never go out and sit down and actually participate in a 60 second ad in this great forestry scene and tell people -- >> not just one sibling, six. >> out of nine. this is bizarre. we have to wrap it. thank you both. diane? could be the start of a major environmental crisis. north carolina flood waters trigger a damn reach that could spill coal ash into the river. a live report from wilmington, north carolina next. ♪ oh, look... another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles. one week?

that definitely works! rapid wrinkle repair®. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. see what's possible. no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so, try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine for whole home freshness. than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage,

even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests, and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without talking to your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr.

rewards me basically daeverywhere.omer morning go by so why am i hosting a dental convention after party in my vegas suite? because hotels.com lets me do me. who wants to floss me? hotels.com. you do you and get rewarded. ♪ as moms, we send our kids out into the world, full of hope. and we don't want something like meningitis b getting in their way. meningococcal group b disease, or meningitis b, is real. bexsero is a vaccine to help prevent meningitis b in 10-25 year olds. even if meningitis b is uncommon,

that's not a chance we're willing to take. meningitis b is different from the meningitis most teens were probably vaccinated against when younger. we're getting the word out against meningitis b. our teens are getting bexsero. bexsero should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. most common side effects are pain, redness or hardness at the injection site; muscle pain; fatigue; headache; nausea; and joint pain. bexsero may not protect all individuals. tell your healthcare professional if you're pregnant or if you have received any other meningitis b vaccines. ask your healthcare professional about the risks and benefits of bexsero and if vaccination with bexsero is right for your teen. moms, we can't wait. ♪

hurricane florence is making a mess in the carolinas. flood waters triggered a dam breach. it could be spilling coal ash into the cape fear river. >> kaylee hartung has been on this since before the hurricane came. she's in wilmington with more details. what can you tell us about the situation there? >> reporter: hi, diane, victor. environmentalists fear coal ash is entering cape fear river. duke energy that owns the natural gas plant home to two inactive coal basins says that's probably not the case, at least not yet. that's the problem we are facing. at this point we don't understand the full extent of danger the people of wilmington

are in. so it was thursday when the waters of the cape fear river first flooded into a cooling lake on this natural gas plant's property which was formerly a coal burning power plant. friday we first learned of the breach of the dam, several breaches. the video we can show you of the power plant was taken before the dam was breached. now the question is how long will it take for the coal ash basin to begin flooding into the cooling lake as well. duke energy says there's no visible sign of coal ash in the cooling lake. we have seen helicopters overhead all morning long, monitoring the site. they say there are water samples being taken. they'll take days before they're back. again, at this time duke energy says there's no visible coal ash in the cooling lake, but again, this is such an on-going situation, a fluid situation literally, if you will, and extent of damage people could be

facing, especially downstream from the river is not yet known. coal ash is one of the largest forms of industrial waste, and its impact and harm could be tremendous. >> you're in north carolina. let's go to the waccamaw river and flood waters in south carolina. they spilled into an ash pond at a separate power plant i understand. >> reporter: right. similar but different situations between wilmington and conway, south carolina. at 9:00 a.m. this morning, we learned that flooding waccamaw river had overtaken a dike, what was known as grainger generating station site. santee cooper power company area. they say no significant environmental impact at this time, but again, a very fluid situation. the danger of coal ash getting into a river and the ways in which humans can come in contact with it, obviously such a

precursor to impacts that people could feel. these are two serious situations both states say their environmental agencies are monitoring, overhead, visually, water sampling, drones, helicopters are involved, these are very sensitive situations that are being monitored very carefully on a state and local level. >> kaylee hartung in wilmington, north carolina. thank you for your dedication to this story. let's go to texas where we know they love football, they love the tailgating. >> and coy wire. he is experiencing it all for us in austin. >> here in austin, university of texas long horns take on number 17 tcu. it is game day. sports is coming up after the break.

touch shows how we really feel. but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz, the first and only treatment of its kind

offering people with moderate to severe psoriasis a chance at 100% clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of people quickly saw a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. don't use if you're allergic to taltz. before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection, symptoms, or received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz, including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. ready for a chance at 100% clear skin? ask your doctor about taltz.

another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce wrinkles. neutrogena®.

today, life-changing technology from abbott is helping hunt them down at their source. because the faster we can identify new viruses, the faster we can get to stopping them. the most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. life. to the fullest.

when heartburn hits... fight back fast with tums smoothies. it neutralizes stomach acid at the source. tum tum tum tum tums... smoothies... ...and introducing new tums sugar-free. victor, it is saturday. you know what that means? fans are getting ready for another day of college football. we are fired up. it is the start of the ultimate tailgate tour. >> cnn takes you to the best tailgate parties. coy wire takes us to home of the texas longhorns. big day ahead, coy. >> reporter: good morning, victor, diana.

truck sized smoker here, fumes are getting me. i want to eat barbeque so bad. the party is getting going. kickoff, six hours away. it will be hotter than a texas barbeque. this bleacher report brought to you by tums. texas longhorns are looking to keep a good thing going, 2 and 1 entering the first big 12 test. coming off a huge win over usc last week. kicked them out of the top 25. today they face rival number 17, tcu. they look to get back on their froggy feet after being knocked down by number four, ohio state last week. the buckeyes will have the coach back on the sidelines hosting tulane, he served a three game suspension for handling of the domestic abuse allegations against zach smith. they will face penn state, what a second half performance the

nittany lions put on. trailing early first half, they put a good old fashioned butt whooping. 42 unanswered points in the second half. penn state wins 63-24. they host the buckeyes in happy valley next saturday. three of the nba teams raise money for hurricane florence victims. steph curry, chris paul, john wall, all north carolina natives. they launched a crowd sourcing site, aimed at getting relief to those in need off to a good start, the goal, $500,000. coming to the college town, i wanted to immerse myself in this. he has over 18,000 pairs from classic to quirky. they have one hair of american gator that cost $13,000.

that pair there. $13,000. i got to meet one of college football's biggest mascot, his name bibo. he is 1700 pounds, a celebrity. friends with matthew mcconaughey, attended george w. bush's inauguration. he has a deal with chevy to name one of the pickups, official truck of bevo. i feel like a million bucks. i have a new cowboy hat that's victor approved. i am winning at life. going to be a great day here. and diane, the vols will beat the gators later today. >> texas suits you, man. >> the hat is perfect. >> really does. >> i might not come back. if i do, i'll bring you some barbeque. >> don't come back without barbeque, please. coy wire, thanks so much. we'll be back. can be relentless.

tremfya® is for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. with tremfya®, you can get clearer. and stay clearer. in fact, most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin, and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. ask your doctor about tremfya®. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options. your spirit is unbreakable.

your phone, not so much. purchase protection can help you replace small things that get damaged along the way. another way we have your back. the powerful backing of american express. don't live life without it. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

monitor their blood glucose every day. which means they have to stop. and stick their fingers. repeatedly. today, life-changing technology from abbott makes it possible to track glucose levels. without drawing a drop of blood, again and again. the most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. life. to the fullest.

i'm hoping these nature sounds will help me relax a bit.. at least we don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. just call geico. geico helps with homeowners insurance? good to know. feeling better? i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 1] i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 2] i love you, pookie bear! [parrots] i love you, pookie bear!!!

get to know geico and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. one computer programmer is determined to help girls succeed in the tech industry. >> when i went there, i was surprised to see the living conditions. most are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. many of them are not thinking education. what you can see you can aspire

to. >> if you want to see that story, go to cnnheroes.com. thank you for watching. >> there's much more ahead. we turn it over to fredricka whitfield. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. it has been a busy one. >> it has been. going to be a busy afternoon, too. >> good to see you. it is 11:00 on the east coast. i am fredricka whitfield. "newsroom" starts right now. we are hours away from the latest deadline set for christine blasey ford. she's accusing supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault back when they were in high school. ford and republicans are locked in a tense back and forth as they attempt to hammer out details for a possible set of testimonies next week where both sides can share their story. if ford's attorneys do not